Category Archives: travel

Every vacation has its ups and downs. But travelers can improve their odds of a good time with a little care, the right frame of mind, a modest pace and just enough (but not too much) planning. Here are a … Continue reading →

We never did get his name. He was compact, stocky, mid-40s and a man who loved to talk. He drove a newer-model Mercedes taxi with a big crack on the driver’s side windshield. He started talking to us just as … Continue reading →

Five years ago, when my wife Kathy and I visited the chapel that Pablo Picasso painted in the hillside town of Vallauris, overlooking the sparkling French Riviera, the guard in the adjoining museum wore beautiful, hand-tooled leather boots. She exemplified what seemed … Continue reading →

ANSOUIS, France — We’ve settled in the Provence countryside in a B&B, Un Patio en Luberon, set in a house dating back to the 1600s. It’s hot outside, but the thick walls and a fan help. Only today we had one small … Continue reading →

PAYZAC, France — We spent our first day on French soil in motorists’ purgatory, but quickly found our way through the pearly gates. As usual, I’d managed just a couple of 20-minute naps on our seven-hour, cross-Atlantic night flight, jammed … Continue reading →

“All a GPS can do is get you from one town to the next,” Kathy said disdainfully. All she is doing is getting me from one car to the next — and they’re all heading straight toward me. Today we … Continue reading →

“All a GPS can do is get you from one town to the next,” Kathy said disdainfully. All she is doing is getting me from one car to the next — and they’re all heading straight toward me. Today we … Continue reading →